Peterson confirms interest in Brewers job

Rick Peterson honored the code of silence imposed by Brewers general manager Doug Melvin
and declined to say whether he had interviewed to be Milwaukee’s next
pitching coach. But Peterson didn’t hide his strong interest in the
job.

“After taking this year off to recharge my batteries a
little bit, my passion to get back on the field is unbelievable,”
Peterson said via telephone Friday from outside Yankee Stadium, where
he was part of the broadcast of Game 2 of the American League Division
Series between the Yankees and Twins.

“It’s what I’ve done my
whole life, and Milwaukee is at the very top of my list,” he said.
“It’s a very intriguing place to be because I think Milwaukee could win
if the pitching gets turned around. That’s pretty much what I do best.
I think it’s a place that would be a mutual fit.”

Peterson,
54, is the only candidate so far linked to the Brewers in published
reports, including one on FoxSports.com early Friday that said he had
already formally interviewed. Melvin has already spoken to at least two
candidates but declined this week to name them.

The search
will likely be brief. Melvin said he wants to hire a pitching coach
before the end of the month so that person could participate in
offseason planning.

Peterson is an obvious candidate because of his ties to Brewers manager Ken Macha and third base coach Brad Fischer
from Oakland, where Macha was the bench coach and then the manager and
Fischer worked extensively with Peterson as the A’s bullpen coach.
Peterson’s working relationship with Macha actually dates back to 1997,
when Macha managed Double-A Trenton in the Red Sox chain and Peterson
was his pitching coach for a half-season.

After the 2003 season, Peterson was hired away from Oakland by the Mets. He remained as pitching coach when Willie Randolph was hired to manage the team for 2005. Randolph is now the Brewers’ bench coach.

Peterson said he had “strong relationships” with all three men.

“He
might be the most thorough coach I’ve ever been around,” said Macha,
who will be back for a second season as Brewers manager. “He’s prepared
in all aspects of the game. He watches more film. He does more computer
study. He has a program for these pitchers for long toss, balance,
biomechanics. He’s done it all. He’s as prepared as anybody. I normally
let my coaches go do their thing, and I let him do his thing.”

Peterson spent his year out of the coaching ranks launching a business, 3pSports.com, with noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews and former pitchers Al Leiter and Tom Glavine,
among others. The company offers biomechanical analysis and workout
programs to pitchers designed to improve performance and limit the
chance of injury.

Peterson was introduced to the science of
biomechanics in 1989, when he was the first coach to walk through the
doors of Andrews’ now-famous American Sports Medicine Institute in
Birmingham, Ala. He would return at least 80 times with professional
pitchers, a list that eventually grew to include Oakland’s “Big Three”
of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. Andrews broke-down deliveries and looked for ways to avoid injury.

Peterson became a believer. So much so, that his 3pSports now offers the same program to Little Leaguers.

“I’m
looking for a home that embraces this philosophy and wants to implement
it throughout the organization,” Peterson said. “Milwaukee, from what I
can gather, is a forward-looking organization. To me, it’s really
exciting because I think the philosophies fit.”

Asked earlier this week whether he had interviewed Peterson, Melvin declined to answer.

“We
don’t want to say who we’re talking to at this point, because there are
a lot of other teams out there looking for coaches,” Melvin said. “We
don’t want to advertise who we’re looking at. The cat’s out of the bag
on one guy. I interviewed him on Monday and another team interviewed
him the next day. That kind of thing happens, so you don’t have to let
the world know.”

If Peterson was in fact Melvin’s interview
subject on Monday, the Tuesday team might have been the Cincinnati
Reds, who dismissed pitching coach Dick Pole on Oct. 2. A
number of other teams could be in the market for a new pitching coach
this winter but will likely complete managerial searches first.

Macha’s opinion will count in Melvin’s choice.

“Ken
will have a say in it,” Melvin said. “That’s very important. Coaches
and the manager live together for 200 days, so it’s important that the
manager has a comfort level and a say.”

The Brewers are looking for full-time replacements for interim pitching coach Chris Bosio and bullpen coach Stan Kyles. Neither were offered contracts to return for 2010 but Melvin said they would remain candidates for the vacancies.

Peterson wasn’t completely out of baseball in 2009. He was called upon by then-Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir
to help escape a midseason slump, and Kazmir, who worked with Peterson
in New York, posted a 1.73 ERA in six starts after a trade to the
Angels. A few weeks later, Peterson got a call from Mulder, who was
looking to rebuild his mechanics following shoulder surgery.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.